Finding the right grout cleaner.

Stop into your local home improvement store and navigate the maze of isles until you find the do-it-yourself section. You'll notice something common in every store, there are always tons and tons of different kinds of products and manufacturers all claiming to do the same thing: clean your dirty grout. What makes one better than the other? Why are some more expensive than the other one?

The fact is that a majority of these manufacturers offer their line of cleaner to home improvement stores targeted at the Average Joe, who doesn't know much about grout cleaning other than "get chemical, scrub, hope for the best". They are often heavily diluted and don't work that great or even at all, it's like washing with regular soap. Some are not diluted enough, and is almost like pouring straight-up acid on your floor and will eat up your tile and grout.

The best question to ask yourself is this: what would a professional grout cleaning company use? Sure, they use special machines to help them, but you don't have to spend hundreds - possibly thousands - of dollars to get the same results. Even with their machines, it all comes down to the grout cleaner used.

So, where do they get their cleaner? You can be sure it's not from any local home improvement store. They get their supplies from real janitorial stores. These stores are generally closed to the public, meaning not just anyone can walk in and buy stuff. They sell specifically to businesses who specialize in cleaning and nobody else. But why? It does seem like a silly idea...

Remember when I said that the janitorial stores are "generally" closed to the public? Well, there is one that allows everybody to obtain the same professional strength grout and tile cleaning products as the big name companies use. Check out TheGroutCleaningStore.com for more information. They don't just buy from a janitorial store and resell it, they actually ARE the janitorial store. They offer private labeling of their product, Groutrageous, so the professionals can re-label it for themselves. Why go through the middle-man? Since TheGroutCleaningStore.com actually IS the source, you get the best bang for your buck while also getting the best grout cleaner on the market and all at a price that beats any home improvement store "solution".

The cleaner is the most important bit, of course, but the grout brush you use can make a huge difference as well. The type of bristles it has and how strong they are play a big part in how well they clean. Stronger bristles means it will clean better, but too strong or metal bristles can damage your grout. Brushes with a "V" shaped contour get between tiles to really get in at the grout and usually work the best and are universally recommended.